Eleven years of coming to vendanges (minus covid year), my tenth experience. Is there anything new to say? Well, yes, of course. Each vintage is different, the weather, the new plantings and the people. Jeff Coutelou is the central figure and around him there come and go people from all over the world, each bringing new eyes, new stories and they become an extension of the Coutelou family. There are quite a few who have gone on to make their own wines, some who move into different aspects of the wine world and others who simply put it down to experience.

When I tell people that I do wine harvest each year the most common response is that it must be lovely, how romantic the idea is. They obviously don’t recognise the brutally hard work which harvest brings, the aches, pains and cuts which follow and the heat! It has been a hot start to the ’24 harvest, every day well into the 30s centigrade. I drank many litres of water yesterday (August 28th) and still felt parched. Clothing covered in dirt, grape juice, sweat and blood are a commonality between many of us. As I have reached 65 years of age I am starting to feel such days take their toll so have taken today to recover from yesterday’s sweltering conditions and hard work, but I shall be doing six of the first seven days of vendanges.

After so many harvests it has got to the point where Jeff and I reminisce about past experiences, how we had to work differently, problems that arose in the past and which recur – shall we do the same thing this time? Something which did come back was the sorting table which broke down twice last year and had to be replaced. It is high tech, vibrating to winnow the loose debris from the bunches together with insects and snails and it makes sorting bunches a lot more straightforward. Hopefully it will continue to work for the whole season in 2024.

Tuesday was, as many first days have been, a day for Syrah. The grapes from Sainte Suzanne vineyard were somewhat lacking in juice because of this year’s drought. Healthy bunches but small grapes and Jeff felt they would be best vinified in whole bunches to bring out the fruitiness of the grapes. Normally we have sorted such grapes by hand straight from case at the top of the fermentation tank. However, Jeff decided to hang on to the original sorting table and so this was used inside the cellar to make it a more comfortable and efficient operation. Joining me at the table were Tys, a Dutchman who lives in the Auvergne and is considering winemaking for his future. He was there for just one day. Alongside him was Bart Johnston, an Australian, the fourth in my time with Jeff. From Sydney originally Bart now lives and works in Tasmania, running a wine operation as well as making his own wines under the L’Appel label. He was all set to come and do harvest with Jeff in 2020 but, for obvious reasons, that had to be postponed. His experience will be a big help to Jeff this year.

In the afternoon the pickers moved to the large Segrairals vineyard and its Syrah. As I mentioned last time this vineyard has suffered less from the heat and drought than the other side of the village so the grapes were bigger and juicier than those in the morning and by balancing them out Jeff hopes for a good base of Syrah wine, probably for blending into classic cuvées such Le Vin des Amis. The team of Moroccan pickers returned and were joined by Flora, Jeff’s niece. Dario, an Italian who has been working in Puimisson since March after coming for harvest last year forms another experienced hand. Linus, from Sweden is here for the harvest, he works in the wine business there and is looking for more experience of real winemaking. Gilles, as ever, ferries the grapes to and fro and keeps Jeff up to date with how the picking is going.

Day 2 brought a change of personnel. Another familiar face returned for a day. By coincidence the person who replaced Bart in 2020 was Louis from Narbonne and he ended up working for Jeff for a year or so. As it happened I had seen him at Jeff’s in April and it was good to catch up. He and Linus did half a day each of sorting and picking. The morning brought white grapes. Muscat À Petits Grains from Peilhan was collected and pressed directly into tank.

Back to red grapes and Grenache from Sainte Suzanne which, as I wrote last time, had fared much better than the Syrah. Good, healthy and full bunches meant a lot of work and, hopefully, a fuller tank than the Syrah from there which Jeff had estimated to be about half the usual yield. It was a sapping, hot afternoon and I must admit, a tiring one but it was good to have had a successful day.

Compare these two pictures to see how much sorting the grapes has become more mechanised and efficient.